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 The Super Heavyweight Debate
By Sean Stowell (March 7, 2003)
Photo © HoganPhotos.com
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The good big man lost to the exceptional little man last Saturday. Tomorrow night a good gigantic man steps between the ropes to defend his version of the heavyweight title. The good gigantic man and the exceptional little man both hold versions of the heavyweight title, but because of the disparity in size between the two we may never see them fight each other.
In winning the World Boxing Association title against John Ruiz, Roy Jones Jr. came into the fight at 5-feet-10 inches tall, and weighing just shy of 200 pounds, giving up four inches and nearly 30 pounds to Ruiz. Wladimir Klitschko, who defends his World Boxing Organization crown against Corrie Sanders in Germany tomorrow night is considered by many to be a “super” heavyweight. He stands 6-feet-7 inches and weighs in at more than 240 pounds.
The size difference between Klitschko and Jones is clearly obvious, which has caused rumblings about the need for a super heavyweight division. Right now the four champions in the heavyweight division are divided equally among the Davids and Goliaths. Jones and International Boxing Federation champ Chris Byrd represent the Davids while Klitschko and World Boxing Council champion Lennox Lewis (6-foot-5) rule as the Goliaths.
Jones said he’ll fight the big boys if the price is right. This week on the “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” he said it would take at least $50 million for him to even think about taking on a smaller fighter like Mike Tyson.
“He's a very good entertainer," Klitschko said of Jones. "Against real heavyweights like Lewis, Michael Grant or me, he has no chance."
There are differing opinions on both sides of the super heavyweight debate as to whether it is necessary or not. Small heavyweights know what they are up against when they enter the division. It’s the unlimited weight class, and if they don’t like it there’s always the cruiserweights.
“This is something I’ve been stumping for,” ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights studio analyst Max Kellerman told MaxBoxing.com. “A super heavyweight division would have to equal the abolishment of the cruiserweight division. The cruiserweights were started because the average heavyweight was 200-plus pounds, so the cruiserweight limit was made at 190.”
The only problem was the cruiserweights all wanted to be heavyweights and that’s where big paydays were. Since its inception in 1980, there has been little or no interest in the cruiserweight division.
“The heavyweight division would be capped at 220-230 pounds and it would still have cache,” Kellerman said. “The cap can be flexible, going up or down a few pounds, and the big physical freaks can fight at super heavyweight.”
Byrd is one little man who has taken on the big boys, fighting both Klitschko and his brother, the 6-foot-8 Vitali. He lost a 12-round decision to Wladimir and TKO’d Vitali in the ninth round. He’s been pursuing Lewis for some time, and looks forward to taking down the "super" heavyweights.
“I don’t think we need to break up the division again,” Byrd told MaxBoxing from his offices in Las Vegas. “People argue that’s what happened when the cruiserweight division was created.
“I moved up to fight the heavier guys, not guys my own size.”
The heavyweights of today are skewing toward the bigger side. Of course over time there have been exceptions. Giants like Jess Willard who was a hair over 6-foot-6 and weighed around 245 pounds; Harry Wills who fought in the early part of the last century was 6-foot-4, 220. Buddy Baer stepped in at 6-foot-6, 245.
A small era followed in the 1930s through 1950s, with the likes of the 6-foot, 190 pound Ezzard Charles, the 5-foot-11, 180-plus pound Rocky Marciano and the 6-foot-1, 200 pound Joe Louis.
The latter half of the century saw the fighters getting bigger with Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton.
“The Ali/Liston era is considered the modern era of heavyweights,” Kellerman said. “Then you have Riddick Bowe and that’s the post-modern era.”
Ali, Foreman and Norton all stood about 6-foot-3 and fought at over 200 pounds. Ali’s prime fighting weights before he was stripped of his title were between 201 and 214. Post suspension he fought in the 220s. He only weighed more than 220 once and that was his last fight in 1981 against Trevor Berbick in which the 39-year-old Ali weighed in at 236.
Right now the heavyweights are clearly divided into the two camps. Along with the Klitschkos and Lewis, there’s Jameel McCline (6-foot-6); Kirk Johnson (6-foot-3); and Grant (6-foot-7). On the small side there’s Evander Holyfield (6-foot-2), Mike Tyson (5-foot-11), David Tua (5-foot-11) and Hasim Rahman (6-foot-2).
Some of these smaller guys have had success against the bigger guys.
Rahman knocked out Lewis, and Holyfield held his own against Lewis. The 6-foot-2 Oliver McCall KO’d Lewis as well and Tyson in his prime never had much trouble with the bigger guys.
“You have to work on your game plan when you are fighting somebody big,” Byrd said. “A good little man can beat a good big man.”
Byrd added there just aren’t really that many quality big men out there.
“There’s only a handful who can actually fight,” he said. “Besides, they’d only be fighting each other. The regular heavyweights can move up or down.”
Another division would mean more sanctioning fees for the alphabet sanctioning bodies, bigger site fees which equates to more money for the promoters and the fighters stand to make more money.
When asked about the feasibility of a super heavyweight division, Joe Dwyer, the IBF’s Championship Chairman, was unavailable for comment. A super heavyweight division could mean super dollars and super fights between the game’s true giants, or it could turn into a bloated version of the cruiserweights.
“This is the most unique division in the sport, “ Byrd said. “If you can’t handle the big guys, lose weight.”
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E-Mail Sean Stowell at seanstowell@hotmail.com
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